I nudged my buddy and pointed over at the guy.
“Holy Shit, go tell him who you are?”
“No. What the hell does that even mean?” I said.
“Do it, I want to see his face!” Now look, I’ve known this guy for 20 years. He’s a ball buster and a trouble maker and I should have dropped him a long time ago. But he’s a loyal friend and so, we see each other once in a while.
Anyway, I refused make a scene. Besides, it's more gratifying for me to see you guys wearing my BYB stuff and me sitting back and enjoying it. I’m a regular dude with a regular life and I don’t need the fanfare. I do however, appreciate you wearing us and supporting us.
As the guy was buying a pretzel, my buddy went over to him. “Where’d you get that shirt?”
“BleedingYankeeBlue.com!" He rattled it off the tongue like he knew it was coming. “I gotta get me one of those”, my buddy said with a smirk. The guy turned around quickly. “You can’t get this shirt anymore. I’ve been reading them for years. It’s vintage now.” He started to laugh. My pal, always the jokster, laughed harder, and patted him on the back like they'd known each other for life. They looked like 2 old friends or something.
“See that guy," he pointed at me, "He’s Casey.”
“Crap”, I said under my breath smiling. I knew it was coming.
“Get the F**k outta here!” The man walked over to me. There was pretzel mustard in his mustache. He was happy to see me.
“Are you F**king with me right now?”
“No, it’s me," I said, "Nice shirt!” We shook hands.
“I love you guys! The greatest Yankee site I ever read! It's in my bookmarks," he said.
I smiled. I probably blushed, “Thanks man. Thanks for reading it.”
“My wife wants that Posada shirt,” he then said. I don’t remember much more after that, and if you’re reading this sir, here’s why; I literally watched this man talk to me about the 2009 World Series, and the Matsui home run and he told me about how he loved what we did with the Biogenesis scandal coverage and how he hates ARod. He liked the way we blasted Cano for ditching New York, but I don't remember any of the specifics. That's because I was looking at this guy and thinking, “Holy cow. I have a fan. This guy’s inspired because of what we put on paper every day.” I was in a zone at the moment. I couldn't believe it... it felt good.
My friend jumped in, “Hey, we gotta run, but I thought it would be funny to tell you that he was Casey!”
Then I remember this; “You are awesome,” the man said. We shook hands again.
We walked away. As I turned the corner, I waved. He waved back and shook his fist, like he just won a big game. I got chills, actual chills.
"What the hell was that for?" I asked my buddy. “Hey, its time you knew what you’re doing to people who read you. You’re a celebrity and you don’t even realize it.”
Now, I have never been the type to think about that. I had a few ideas and I wanted to put them on paper and see what the readers opinions were a few years ago, but a celebrity? Nope. I’m you, a fan. Hey, maybe that’s why it’s been such a great ride. We communicate like fans, together. We put ideas on paper that you don’t read anywhere else. We’re funny, we’re fair and we’re not know-it-all assholes. We’re you. 3 years later, it's been amazing.
And to top off that meeting with a BYB "fan", I received an email from my friend Becki 1 day later. She attended Saturday’s Yankee game against the Sox. She sent me this picture with a message that said that she went and “of course I was wearing your shirt”. It was that Jorge Posada Limited edition Tee. She smiled proud and our cathedral was in the background as you can see. I realized something pretty incredible right then. We do have fans, don’t we? I love you guys! You’re real people, real fans, and you really, really like Bleeding Yankee Blue! How the hell did that happen?
I want to take a moment to thank you all. I want to thank the BYB writers. Your efforts are never ignored. You are incredible people. Truly incredible people.
I want to thank all the readers and new readers that come to us, maybe to laugh or to be inspired. Or even to read about the game or just an opinion piece. You understand what we’re doing here. You’re amazing individuals and outstanding fans. You keep me going… and I’m blessed.
Thanks for going to the BYB store. Thanks for wearing us… and thanks for being you. You are terrific.
Most importantly, thanks for being a BYB fan. I can’t believe I’m even writing that, but I am. It’s weird for me, but my buddy set me straight a few days ago… and I see the big picture now.
Thanks!
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